Ana Bailão brought greetings from Council and
reported on her participation on various committee and initiatives. She hopes
to be available in her office most Fridays. Ana is actively involved in looking
for ideas to connect different community organizations throughout the ward. Her
assistant, Manuel Lomba, will attend
our monthly meetings.

1.
Street Beautification

a) Garden plan updates, graffiti, garbage (deferred)

b) EcoSchools project for Daffodil Hill

Richard Cavanaugh introduced Patrick Murtaugh, teacher at Regal Road PS. Patrick plans to set up
an outdoor education program with an outdoor learning area at the school. They
have started with a composting program at the top of Daffodil Hill and Patrick
inquired about the community’s history of involvement on Daffodil Hill. Florence reported that since 1999 well
over 3,000 bulbs have been planted on the slope. Patrick is gathering
information from EcoSchools and Foodshare and would appreciate community
volunteers to help bring projects to life. Anyone with ideas for involvement
can contact Patrick at Murtaugh@gmail.com.

2. Communications and Planning

a) Communications and mailing list update:

Peter Norman reported that one recent addition to the
RHRA website (regalheights.ca)
is the “Committee of Adjustments Tracker” through which residents can be aware
of development applications. It was further noted that there will be a public
meeting in January regarding an application concerning redevelopment of 831 St.
Clair Avenue at the corner of Winona. That public meeting is scheduled for 6pm
Monday January 28th and will take place at Oakwood Collegiate.
Councillor Bailão will be in attendance. Peter reported that the RHRA currently
has 452 registered email subscribers and roughly 500 followers on Twitter.
There is also a new Facebook group that lets community members post and discuss
items of interest. Agendas for executive meetings are now posted on the website
one week in advance. These meetings are open to the public (advance notice of
attendance appreciated to make sure there is enough space). It was suggested
that agendas also be posted on the kiosk on Rosemount Avenue. Florence reported
that there is a small number of copies of the monthly minutes printed and
hand-delivered to residents who do not have email. Please provide Peter with
feedback and info to keep the website up to date.

b) Regal Heights Newsletter (deferred)

c) Drive to increase participation in RHRA

John Keating reported that the GoFundMe drive was very
successful raising $5000. A one-time door-to-door flyer is also proposed to
inform residents of the association and collect email addresses for
distribution lists; this could be at the same time as the newsletter proposed
by Dave Meslin. Volunteers would be
needed for the distribution. Watch for developments.

d) Traffic light initiative at Rosemount
and Oakwood

Kevin Johnston reported that the application for a light
was approved by community council; the next step is a TTC review, and then the
request is prioritized for acceptance by council. The light would ideally be
installed before next September and Kevin suggested that an on-line petition
could be set up to advance the process. Residents observe that the traffic
calming barriers on Oakwood (a city pilot project) are having a beneficial
effect. It was asked if the electronic flashing speed displays could be
secured. Ana Bailão explained that these signs are installed as part of the
Vision Zero School Safety Zone initiative and she has requested that Dufferin
Street near Regal Road PS be also considered for this designation. She may need
assistance from residents in collecting relevant information for this review.

e) Movement regarding transit uploading

Margaret Smith introduced the Defend Toronto movement to
rally opposition to the uploading of the subways to the province. The
organization will also be discussing the redevelopment of Ontario Place.
Information about this movement can be found at defendtoronto.org.

f) RHVBIA

Margaret Smith
reported that the Regal Heights Village BIA elected several new members to its
board at the AGM in November and that the new BIA executive will be elected at
their next meeting in February. The RHRA will continue to work with the BIA to
support neighbourhood initiatives that strengthen our community.

3. Police Community Partnership (deferred)

4. Special Events

a) John Keating
confirmed that the next Regal Heights Pub Night is February 28th

b) John Keating
reminded everyone of the Family Games Night on Thursday Jan 17th

c) Cancer Society
inquiry: John Keating received an email from Bradley Stevenson from the Cancer
Society asking if the group could partner with the RHRA in April for their
annual daffodil sales fundraiser. No specific action was decided upon at this
time.

5. Community Welcome Projects

Harry Lay reported that several packages have been distributed to new
households since the last meeting in November. Updated materials are still
needed from various organizations. Ana Bailão will send the new Waste
Management calendar along with her welcome letter; there are Seniors calendars
available with additional information.

6. Finances

Linda DeGeorgio reported the following figures.

Spending was clarified
upon request (gift to retiring Councillor Palacio, song sheets and donation to
Salvation Army Band for December Carol Sing)

November 20,
2018

January 15, 2019

Operating Fund

$10,491

$9,839.89

Heritage Fund

$276

$276

Street Sale Fund

$192

$192

Petty Cash

$250

$260

TOTAL

$11,209

$10,567.89

7. Development Issues

a) Strategies for better control of
development

Kevin Johnston
introduced Chris Dunn, an urban
planner with experience in City of Toronto’s Heritage Preservation Services.
Chris addressed what neighbourhoods could do if they wanted to have more say in
minor variance and other redevelopment applications within their areas. He
discussed the approach used in Cabbabetown, Wychwood Park and elsewhere of attaining
a “Heritage District” designation, which then provides protections under the
provincial Heritage Act. He clarified that the Heritage District is an “architecture
focused” approach rather than natural landscape focused. He also discussed other
approaches undertaken in different parts of the city, some of which were more symbolic,
and had “no teeth”. He provided an overview of approaches and options to
proactively address development proposals according to priorities identified by
the community. The review process to achieve a Heritage Designation is costly
(between $50,000-$100,000) in part due to fees for consultant reports. Chris suggested
that a more practical approach is for the community to define its key characteristics
(and he suggested that some of the witness statements prepared by consultants for
the 49-51 Springmount TLAB matter already provide some of this information)
which can form part of the required materials for the review. He also warned
that a Heritage District approach can have pros and cons, as it reduces the
freedom of existing homeowners to undertake changes they may want or feel are
necessary to their own properties. In the end, he suggested that seeking a
“Cultural Heritage Landscape” designation might be more appropriate for Regal
Heights

b) Intersection of Springmount and Regal
Road

Ana Bailão reported
that there will be a public meeting in early March for the pilot project at the
intersection of Springmount and Regal Road.

Greetings from Julie Dzerowicz, MP for
Davenport

Julie Dzerowicz applauded the establishment of the new
local paper, The West End Phoenix.
She stated that Toronto MPs will be working with the province regarding
integration of the regional transit system. All are encouraged to check her
website for new initiatives and funding for programs.

Make a Donation to Regal Heights Today

Links

RHRA is A Member of TANGO

Statement of Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the diversity of the First Peoples of this area and honour the stewardship of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Iroquois-Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat. Today, Toronto is still home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and around the world. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work, live and meet on this territory.

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Regal Heights is a leafy tree filled community.

While much of Toronto is flat land, unique geographic features set the Regal Heights neighbourhood apart. The most prominent is the 50 to 75-foot bluff — called Davenport Hill or the Davenport Escarpment — just north of Davenport Road. It marks the shoreline of a prehistoric lake that was formed at the end of the Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago.

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Every year your Regal Heights Residents’ Association hosts a grand patriotic parade through the neighbourhood on July 1st to celebrate Canada Day. This year a great crowd gathered at the corner of St. Clair and Oakwood at 11am on July 1st and processed through Regal Heights ending up at Regal Road Public School for remarks, […]